Letter+of+Introduction

To Whomever Reads This,

I think back on first entering this class and I remember thinking that it was a logical step after taking a class on child literacy. I expected lessons on what the next stages of literacy would be and how to teach them to adolescents and possibly construct a new lesson plan or two bases on what I’m able to observe in a classroom as a visitor.

What I did not expect was the in-depth look into what literacy actually was and how it manifested in so many different forms in the life of a student. I had never heard of the concept of discourse until that first day of class, and it fascinated me to think that there was such an in-depth and multifaceted way in which students took in this discourse not just from school, but their personal lives. Literacy was more than just what students learn. It’s how they learn it, the kinds of mistakes that are usually made, the way in which these mistakes can be corrected and expanded upon in new lessons. It was about discovering that the very way we learn to talk can affect everything about how we perceive ourselves and how others see us as people. It never really occurred to me before that you could easily discriminate against people based on their accent, nor did I expect to find that so many people could agree in a national survey that one accent could be so inferior to any other in terms of how intelligent it really was.

I was disarmed of my misconceptions of proper English and what we consider to be “Standard English”, when it’s really just the kind of English that schools seem to feel is most appropriate for essay writing and proving your intelligence in the classroom. Never mind that most students in their younger years are going to speak in their own vernacular amongst their peers anyway. Obviously this Standard English is superior. How can you look at things like Ebonics and text speak and see a kind of English that is just as intelligent? To that, I would answer, “Easily!” No one kind of English is any more intelligent or efficient as another. Those assumptions were made long ago, and they have been slowly deconstructed ever since. No longer is there “proper” English in the world, but rather, a dialect among many.

Language became especially important as we got into how literacy is formed in the home. I knew that learning English as a second language could be a big hassle for students, but I never thought that it could make so many worlds of difference in a student’s life if they got more support at home and in school to learn the language. Education in this country is primarily done through the use of English, and the student who lags behind in understanding how to speak and use the language tends to perform more poorly than their native speaking peers. Being able to just have books to read, shows to watch, lessons to take at school or in the library can make all the difference in the life of a student who is still learning to speak English.

Having a chance to look at the N-word controversy in Module 3 was especially interesting, as I had always grown up in a neighborhood with a large African American population. Even as a kid, I knew that the phrases and terms that African American children my age used were different from the ones I was taught. A part of me understood that things like the N-word belonged to their culture, even when I was too young to understand the history behind the word and what it came to mean. Having a chance to reflect on it more through classic literature like Huckleberry Finn and modern shows like The Boondocks really drove home how much my understanding of the N-word and African American culture developed over time.

Being in this class got me to look at how languages change and how it shows up the most in the adolescent stages of literacy. I discovered that my understanding on how to switch between how I talk to a parent and how I talk to a friend is a recognizable and teachable part of literacy and that you can absolutely expand on a child’s literacy at home and in school. Though I’ve yet to experience how to do this myself, I look forward to what my future in literacy holds.

- Elizabeth R. Miller-Mosher